An intraday sharp recovery in commodity prices helped the Canadian equities market rally for the second consecutive session, even as investors closely monitored mixed corporate earnings. The S&P/TSX Composite Index inched up by 333 points, or 1.6%, on Thursday to settle at 21,223 — near its highest closing level since April 2022.
Besides a sharp rally in energy and metal mining stocks, healthy gains in other key market sectors like utility, financials, and technology also added optimism. The release of weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales numbers for January could be another reason for fueling this rally after it raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve will soon consider slashing interest rates to avoid any severe harm to the economy.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Shares of Seabridge Gold (TSX: SEA) jumped more than 19% to $15.18 per share, making it the top-performing TSX Composite component for the day. Besides a rally in metals prices, the Toronto-headquartered mining company’s recent update on its 2023 drill results could be one of the reasons for these strong gains in its share prices.
On February 14, Seabridge told investors that its 2023 drilling at the 3 Aces project in Canada’s Yukon has led to a new gold deposition model, resolving previous continuity challenges. The company’s management stated that this breakthrough, highlighting localized high-grade zones within regional fold structures, provides a clear direction for resource delineation and exploration. Despite this rally, however, SEA stock is still down 5.5% on a year-to-date basis.
Manulife Financial, Birchcliff Energy, and SSR Mining were also among the top performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the last session, as they climbed by at least 7.6% each.
In contrast, MTY Food (TSX: MTY) stock tanked by nearly 14% to $50.25 per share after announcing its weaker-than-expected November 2023 quarter earnings. Although its adjusted quarterly earnings of $0.67 per share more than doubled from a year ago, the earnings figure missed Street analysts’ expectations of $0.94 per share by a wide margin.
Mullen Group and Aritzia also slipped by over 3% each, making them among the day’s worst-performing TSX stocks.
Based on their daily trade volume, Enbridge, Manulife Financial, Suncor Energy, Great-West Lifeco, and Cenovus Energy were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices, especially metals, were slightly bullish early Friday morning, which could help TSX mining stocks extend their gains at the open today. While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will keep a close eye on the important U.S. wholesale inflation data this morning.
On the corporate events side, TSX-listed companies like Air Canada and TC Energy will announce their latest quarterly results on February 16.
Market movers on the TSX today
